I admit, I don’t can’t appreciate Korean food. Discounting the week spent in Korea years ago, Korean cuisine is very much a stranger to me since this is only my 2nd Korean meal. You know how we always associate the authenticity of the food with the nationality of the owners/chefs? In this case, Doong Ji is opened by Koreans so I reckon the food should be quite good, authentic or not (since I can’t differentiate anyway!).
Side dishes are the best thing about eating Korean! Besides the obligatory kimchi, fried anchovies and soybean sprouts, the water chestnut cakes stood out from the rest. Bland without the accompanying chili paste, it had a nice jelly-like texture. If not for the waitress, I wouldn’t have known it’s made with water chestnut though.
STARCHY is the only word I’d use to describe the tofu pancakes ($6.90++). At the end of the meal, 2 (out of 3) pieces remained untouched. Goes to show how much we I didn’t like it.
I like eggs so it’s easy for the Korean Style Omelette ($7.80++) to win a nod of approval from me. Chock-full of carrot, spinach, onion and seaweed, it would have been even better with more moisture.
Despite its name, the Spicy Beef Soup ($8.90++) wasn’t spicy at all. In fact, it tasted suspiciously like instant noodles soup.
Seeing the tarnished golden pot of maggie mee Ramen ($8.90++) brought back fond memories of the time spent in New Zealand with my Korean flatmates. We used that exact same pot for cooking too!
The broth of the Hotpot Beef ($8.90++) was nice! Savoury with a tinge of sweetness. For the price, portion was so generous that half of it had to go to waste.
Do I foresee myself having a Korean meal again soon? Well, not in the near future, I hope. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it but I don’t particularly like it either. It’s just that I’d rather go for its Japanese counterpart for its clearer taste and delicate appearance compared to the more robust and fiery Korean food.
Doong Ji
222 East Coast Road
6345 4264
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